"Homeland," the tense CIA drama about a terrorist plot on American soil, won the 2012 Emmy Award for Best Drama, preventing "Mad Men" from breaking a record by winning five consecutive Best Drama awards. Claire Danes won Best Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of a complex CIA agent in the show, while Damian Lewis' Best Actor in a Drama win for "Homeland" deterred Bryan Cranston from four awards in the category. Vulture reports that "Mad Men" was the "losingest" series - setting a record of 17 nominations, no wins during the night.

"Modern Family" won Best Comedy, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, and Best Directing. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won Best Actress in a Comedy for her desperately funny turn as the Vice President in HBO's "Veep." Though Dreyfus' performance beat out Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope on "Parks and Recreation," she graciously shared the spotlight with her fellow politico.

Comedian Louis C.K. also cleaned up at this years awards, both for Best Writing for his comedy, "Louie," as well as Variety Special Writing for "Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater."

Yellow flowers dominated the decor at HBO's after-party at the Pacific Design Center, which drew just about everyone except the Showtime "Homeland" winners. HBO won 23 Emmys, more than any network (for the 11th year in a row). G.R.R. Martin, Peter Dinklage and David Benioff were celebrating the six wins for “Game of Thrones,” tied with Showtime's "Homeland." “Game Change” received five awards and "Boardwalk Empire" won four. “Veep” won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Louis-Dreyfus).

Thompson on Hollywood

Born and raised in Manhattan, Anne Thompson grew up going to the Thalia and The New Yorker and wound up at grad Cinema Studies at NYU. She worked at United Artists and Film Comment before heading west as that magazine's west coast editor. She wrote for the LA Weekly, Sight and Sound, Empire, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly before serving as West Coast Editor of Premiere. She wrote for The Washington Post, The London Observer, Wired, More, and Vanity Fair, and did staff stints at The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. She eventually took her blog Thompson on Hollywood to Indiewire. She taught film criticism at USC Critical Studies, and continues to host the fall semester of “Sneak Previews” for UCLA Extension.